1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a strain relief device for an electrical connector assembly, and particularly to an electrical cable connector assembly which can effectively withstand a withdrawal force acting on a cable relative to a connector thereby preventing a separation of leads of the cable from contacts of the connector.
2. The Prior Art
An electrical cable connector assembly generally includes a connector and a cable which is insert molded with a plastic strain relief thereon. The connector has a housing and a number of contacts fixedly received in the housing. The cable has a number of wires with leads extending into the housing and connected to the contacts. The plastic strain relief is connected to the housing of the connector by some means, whereby a withdrawal force exerted on the cable is transmitted to the housing of the connector via the plastic strain relief, rather than directly to the wires. Thus, the withdrawal force will not cause the leads to be separated from the contacts.
Such designs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,838,810, 5,100,341 and 5,609,499.
However, due to structural and material limitations, the conventional plastic strain relief generally cannot achieve a secure connection with the housing of the connector to effectively withstand a large withdrawal force acting on the cable. When a large withdrawal force is exerted on the cable, the plastic strain relief often becomes disengaged from the housing of the connector, which causes the withdrawal force to be totally and directly applied to the leads, resulting in a separation of the leads from the contacts. When this happens, electrical signal transmission by means of the cable connector assembly is interrupted.
Hence, an improved strain relief device is needed to eliminate the above mentioned defect of current cable connector assemblies, which can effectively withstand a large withdrawal force acting on the cable relative to the connector to prevent the withdrawal force from affecting the leads connected to the contacts.